Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
spring drills. He was the biggest play- maker in the passing game the past two years, and having down5eld threats is a necessity if the Lions' o6ense is going to reach its full potential. But when asked this spring how the team was going to replace Godwin's production, Franklin said he didn't think any single player was going to step into that role. "I don't know if you can necessarily do that," he said. "You need a guy who's a playmaker, a guy like Allen Robinson who can make big-time plays. I watch tape. How many times did [Robinson] go up in double coverage and come down with the ball? "Godwin has been that guy the past two seasons for us. How many times has he had guys hanging all over him and made the contested catch on what peo- ple call the '50-50' ball? It's not a 50-50 ball with Chris Godwin. He comes down with most of them. "So, yeah, you need a guy who's a playmaker. But there are a lot of ways to do it. We've had guys like [Robinson and Godwin] who have been able to high- point the ball and go get it in tra7c. But you can have other guys who can just blow the top o6 the coverage or make people miss and do it that way and go 80 yards, or big, physical guys who can go get it." That's exactly what Penn State will try to do as it looks to replace Godwin this fall. Johnson, Irvin Charles and Saeed Blacknall will work as a team to 5ll the void. Blacknall is the most experienced of those three players, totaling 15 catches for 347 yards a year ago and averaging a team-best 23.1 yards per catch, with three touchdowns. He had a breakout night in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, 5nishing with six catches for 155 yards and two long touchdowns. Johnson had a strong performance in spring practice. In the Blue-White Game, he caught seven passes for 81 yards and ended the game with a 15-yard TD catch from Stevens. He said the key to his improvement was his devotion to the 5ner points of his position. "It's just the little things and little de- tails that I focus on now that I didn't be- fore," he said. "A lot of times, you would see me drop open passes, and there were a lot of reviews even in high school, [saying that] I had inconsistent hands. I would always waver and say, 'No, that's not me.' But it was obviously true. I would make incredible catches, but I would drop easy catches. So I worked hard this o6-season trying to catch everything in my reach. I can be proud of what I did this spring, but I still have a lot to work on." Blacknall, Johnson and Charles all stand at least 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and all three have 4.5-second or better 40- yard speed. Together, they have the abil- ity to e6ectively replace Godwin this fall. The key will be to let them use their individual talents rather than trying to turn them into clones of Godwin. TIGHT END Another important devel- opment this spring was the emergence of redshirt junior Jonathan Holland. De- spite Mike Gesicki's breakout perform- ance last season, in which he totaled 48 catches for 679 yards and 5ve touch- downs, the tight end position was one of Penn State's biggest concerns going into spring practice. Gesicki has All-American potential this fall, but the Lions need more than one tight end. A year ago, Nick Bowers missed the entire season with a leg in- jury. Gesicki was forced to assume an even bigger role than anyone antici- pated, and while he handled it extraordi- narily well, additional depth would be welcome. Gesicki was the only tight end to catch a pass for Penn State in 2016 – not an optimal situation. Bowers is still working his way back, so Holland had a chance to showcase his development in the spring game. He took full advantage of that chance, 5n- ishing with a game-high eight catches for 62 yards. "I was able to get a lot of reps this spring," Holland said, "I was more com- fortable with the plays we were running. I think me and a couple of other tight ends can help Mike, take a little stress o6 of him so he doesn't have to play 80 snaps a game. We have a lot of talented tight ends – Nick Bowers, Danny Dalton, 23 SKIDOO Monroe returns an intercep- tion during the Blue-White Game. The redshirt sopho- more was one of the game's stand- out players, finish- ing with five tackles and a pass breakup, in additon to his pick. He'll be com- peting in August for the starting strong safety position. Photo by Bill Zim- merman